Going To The Dogs
by fluffyandkagura
Summary: In which Ariadne brings her dog to work and Arthur makes a new friend. Cute one/shot. A/A if you really keep an open mind, mostly friendship . As always, summaries are what I do worst! Full summary inside. I do not own Inception!


Summary- In which Ariadne brings her dog to work and Arthur makes a new friend. Cute one-shot. A/A if you really keep an open mind (more friendship than anything). Basically written because I couldn't get the idea of Arthur with a puppy on his lap out of my mind.

Disclaimer- I own no part of Inception. I am nowhere near that bamf.

Cobb sat in his office alone, for one of the few moments that he could be alone with himself. He sighed and wrote some ideas on a pad of paper, ideas for another heist. He turned as he heard the door open. Ariadne was standing sheepishly at the door. He motioned for her to come inside.

"Do you need something?" he asked her. She nodded.

"A really big favor." She uttered. He nodded. "My…dog is coming home from the vet's tomorrow. I need him to be with me after I pick him up…would it be completely awful of me to ask if I can bring him to work?" she asked. Cobb laughed.

"I don't think it will be a problem. Just… clean up after it." He insisted. She smiled and nodded.

"Thank you Dom," she pleaded. He nodded, and she walked out of the room.

The next morning, Arthur was sitting at the desk that he always used, waiting for Ariadne to walk into the office so that he could ask her a question. He heard the door opening and he turned to see if it was Ariadne.

Unless he had missed the day when Ariadne had shrunk a good 4 feet, grown hair all over, and sprouted 2 more legs, he was pretty sure the creature that came through the door wasn't her. She did, however, follow in after. The dog ran and stopped right in front of Arthur. It spread its back legs, took a heroic stance and began to bark. It was a high pitch yelp, but it was a bark indeed. Arthur lifted his eyebrows and looked to Ariadne who had an expression of apology on her face.

"Sorry Arthur. He does this around strangers. Snowball, sit!" She called. The dog did as it was told, but continued to stare at Arthur.

"Is this your dog?" he asked. It was a pretty obvious question, but Arthur felt slightly at a loss of words.

"Yeah. I hope you don't mind, he just came back from the vet. He had some shots and I really want to keep him with me. He usually just stays by me; I'll keep him under control." She begged. The dog and Arthur kept staring at each other.

"It…shouldn't be a problem." He said, without looking away. Ariadne smiled in a thankful manner and picked up her dog. She sat down at her desk and sat the dog down in her lap. It lay down, and she started to stroke it. Arthur watched as she did this and simultaneously opened a drawer and pulled out her notepad and pencil. She continued to pet the fur ball as she sketched in her notebook. Arthur sighed and turned back to his computer screen.

Arthur continued to work. But every time he glanced over to the other side of the room, the dog was staring at him. Arthur liked dogs as a rule. He couldn't say that he would enjoy owning one but dogs in general were usual cute and harmless. He didn't care either way. This particular dog was bothering him. It wouldn't stop staring at him.

"Ariadne is there any reason that your dog hasn't stopped looking at me since he got here?" he asked her, once again in a staring contest with the pooch.

"No, he just likes you," she said. Arthur didn't think that staring could determine a dog's feelings about him.

"Do dogs typically stare at people they like?" he questioned.

"Not all dogs. But mine does. He stares at me all day. I like it; it makes me feel like I'm safe and protected." She explained. He shifted his gaze now from the dog to her.

"Interesting." He stated, and went back to working.

After an hour or so, the dog started to fuss. He got down from the chair, and started yapping again. The sound alerted Arthur's attention and he turned to watch the dog barking at Ariadne.

"I think he wants some water. I brought a bowl. It's in my car, I'll be right back." She announced, and got up, walking out the door. The dog stopped barking and started walking around. Arthur turned back to his computer and tried to ignore the tapping of his nails on the concrete floor.

A few minutes passed before he noticed a tug on his pant leg. He looked down to see the dog pawing his leg. He started at the dog and moved his foot away. The dog started again and Arthur gently moved it away with his foot. Without warning, the dog took a flying leap and landed in his lap. He was startled by this and flinched slightly. The dog sat on him and panted happily, smiling up at him. He stared at it with a slight glare.

"Down." He said, and pointed to the ground. The dog apparently misunderstood, and put his paws on Arthur's chest and commenced licking his face. He recoiled and picked the dog up, holding it away from his face. Staring at the animal, he watched it look at him. He had to admit to himself that it was a cute dog. Sighing, he put it back down on his lap and carefully stroked it like he had seen Ariadne do. The dog relaxed, and within a few seconds sat down calmly on his lap.

When Ariadne walked back into the room, she saw Arthur at the computer with her dog in his lap, petting it softly. She smiled.

"Looks like you found a friend," she said. Both the dog and Arthur turned to face her.

"He gave me no choice." Arthur admitted. She laughed and sat back down. The dog spent the rest of the time alternating between the laps of Arthur and Ariadne, and both were happy to have the dog sit on them lovingly.

At the end of the day, they were both packing up their things and Ariadne had the dog in her arms.

"So did you enjoy the dog?" she asked him. He turned to her and gave a sly smile.

"Eventually," he replied. Ariadne rolled her eyes at his stubbornness and waved goodbye to him. He waved goodbye also, and smiled to himself as he walked out the door.

It wasn't long before Arthur came into the office a few hours late, an anomaly that never happened. He walked into the office and headed straight to Cobb's office. Ariadne watched him as he walked past his desk. Confusion overwhelmed her but she continued to work. She heard a roar of laughter coming from Cobb's office and sawing Arthur walking out. She could tell that he wore an obvious smile, but avoided her gaze as he walked past her again and out the door. She couldn't control herself now, and walked up to see Arthur exit the building. Sighing, she sat back down and decided if he wasn't back in 30 minutes she would ask Cobb what he had wanted.

He was back in 10. When the door opened, the first thing that came scampering through the door was a medium sized black puppy with floppy ears. Arthur soon followed in after. Ariadne started at him.

"Arthur, what did you do?" she asked teasingly. He said nothing, but sat down in his chair and placed the puppy on his lap.

"This won't be a problem, right?" he asked her with a look that really didn't care what she said. Ariadne smiled.

"Only if you let me hold it!" she cried, giving in to its cuteness.

The dog spent the remainder of the day rotating between the laps of Arthur and Ariadne. At the end of the day, while collecting their belongings, Arthur turned to face Ariadne.

"You…should bring your dog tomorrow." He said. She laughed, and nodded.

The next day, Cobb came into the office to see both dogs playing with each other and both their owners laughing. He cleared his throat. Both humans in the room turned to face him.

"This place is going to the dogs," he sighed, and continued to walk away.

A/N- OOOH the fluffiness. Cliché last line of story is cliché. Anyway, just a cute little fanfic for no real reason other than to quiet my screaming mind. Reviews are greatly appreciated! They help me write more fanfics! Thanks to everyone who read this and a double thanks to everyone who reviews!


End file.
